FRIDAY, May 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Frequent snacking, particularly on high-fat and high-sugar foods, is worse for the liver than consuming larger meals, according to a study published online May 13 in Hepatology.

Karin E. Koopman, M.D., from the Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam, and colleagues randomized 36 lean, healthy men to either a 40 percent hypercaloric diet for six weeks or a eucaloric control diet. Intrahepatic triglyceride content (IHTG) was measured using 1H-MRS. Abdominal fat was measured using magnetic resonance imaging, and insulin sensitivity was assessed using a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp with a glucose isotope tracer before and after the diet intervention. Either fat and sugar (high-fat-high-sugar; HFHS) or sugar only (high-sugar; HS) constituted a caloric surplus and this was consumed together with, or in between, the three main meals, effectively either increasing meal size or meal frequency.

"Our study provides the first evidence that eating more often, rather than consuming large meals, contributes to fatty liver independent of body weight gain," a coauthor said in a statement. "These findings suggest that by cutting down on snacking and encouraging three balanced meals each day over the long term may reduce the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease."